But first, a little background. Hoffman was found dead a few days ago, apparently from a self-induced drug overdose (autopsy results still pending) . The star actor had been scheduled to finish filming some of the scenes his character, Plutarch Heavensbee, was part of in a still-in-production sequel episode, “Mockingjay – Part 2” of the widely acclaimed “The Hunger Games” series.

Well, obviously, a live Hoffman was not going to be available, so the Hollywood tech meisters were called in to help out. Evidently Hoffman was not that prominently featured visibly in the still-to-be-filmed scenes, so by adjusting camera angles and with some distancing, they could make him appear present, but without significant details. Add a couple sound-alike voice overs and, voila! Resurrection.

Not to wax too congenially over a man’s death and subsequent return to the film production set, but I have long thought about (in fact, shortly after watching Keanu Reeves in the special effects-laden 1999 “Matrix” movie ) what some day might be possible with all the BIG NAME stars, living and dead. What if the stars themselves, or even their rights-holding estates, could license digital characters of themselves for any movie. Make them Digital Brands, so to speak. Obviously, it’s already been done in a cartoonish way for certain animation projects, but I’m talking about an apparently “real life” reproduction that walks and talks in an actual movie … and never grows old.

What about a whole new series of John Wayne or Humphrey Bogart movies, featuring them in their cinematic primes ( “Casablanca 2,” anyone?). Maybe Richard Dreyfuss could take us along for the sequel to his 1977 “Close Encounters” trip. There’s no limit and, ultimately, production costs and headaches ( talent contracts, stars misbehaving, shooting days, etc.) would drop, while profit margins should skyrocket.

Hollywood, if you haven’t thought about this….give me a call. If you have, get on the stick and let’s have your production and software teams move it forward. I’d sure like to see DiNero and Bogart as a cop team chasing the bad guys.

Oh, and here’s some background for those needing it on this post’s headline, Is that actor “live” or is he Memorex?

It’s from a Memorex TV advertising slogan from the 70’s. It was a cassette tape commercial featuring noted jazz singer, Ella Fitzgerald, in which it compared the sound quality of her voice taped on a Memorex cassette with the “real thing” – in this case, her singing “live” in studio. Both her live singing and the recorded version broke a wine glass featured prominently on camera. Both were so real sounding that people (and the commercial) had to ask, “Is it live or is it Memorex?”